Scientists collaborate to reduce number of animals needed for research

More than 200 scientists have signed up to a tissue-sharing database designed to reduce the number of animals needed for biomedical research.

SEARCHBreast, which is led by Professor Valerie Speirs at
the University of Leeds, allows breast cancer researchers across the world to search for
remaining mouse tissue from previous experiments which they can then use
themselves.

By using this tissue, there is no need to rely on new
animals, reducing the overall numbers used.

Professor Speirs, Professor of Experimental Pathology and Oncology in the School of
Medicine, said: As scientists, we are always looking for ways to reduce
the number of live animals we use in research.

In oncology though, and particularly breast cancer
research, the best option we currently have to study how tumours develop and
respond to drugs is animal tissue, so animals have to play a part.

An example of how this translates to human benefit is
tamoxifen, a drug which has saved the lives of millions of people diagnosed
with breast cancer; its approval as a clinical therapy was aided by important
work with rodents conducted in the 1970s.

While several mice are usually needed to produce reliable
results, in general only a fraction of each tissue sample is required to
perform an experiment. Scientists typically store the rest of the material
away, which is often not re-visited.

SEARCHBreast brings
together those who need animal tissue and those who are holding it in their
archives, said Professor Speirs.

Most scientists are willing to share this material on a
collaborative basis, and it makes ethical, economic, and academic sense to do
that.

It serves the goals of the 3Rs - the Reduction,
Replacement, and Refinement of the use of animals in biomedical research.

Since its launch in 2014, 220 scientists from the UK, EU, US
and Australia have signed up to SEARCHBreast and nearly 90 animal models are
available, representing thousands of ready-to-use tissue samples.

Plans are now underway to extend the framework beyond breast
cancer research.

We want to foster a culture of collaboration, and by doing
this, were reducing the number of animals needed for research all round, said
Professor Speirs.

We have shown this concept works for breast cancer and our
research shows a desire from scientists in other disciplines to adopt SEARCH in
their own field.